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I have been lurking for a few months trying to soak in all the great information on this site. I purchased a 1973 it is two owner car the past owner has had the car since 1978. He parked the car in 87 and it has sat idle since then. I have been after this car for many many years. I have a number of things to do to get it road worthy again. I like doing as much work as I can as to me it is one of the best parts of the hobby. Look forward to meeting forum members at different events in the future.

Dominic

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Welcome & congratulations! Looks like a good find. As I am sure you know, a car sitting for nearly 30 years needs ALL fluids changed.
I can't quite see in this pic, but if those are Goodyear Arriva tires, take steps to preserve them. They make nice show pieces, but are way too old to be driving on. Good Luck.
Yes plenty to do before starting it up. I have the radiator out and dropped off to my guy having it re-cored its an original radiator that was modified and has a plate KENZ & LESLIE super cooler across the top edge. Also the original alternator out for rebuild and upgrade to 100 amp. all new hoses , belts ordered and on there way. Will rebuild the carb. this week. took out all the plugs and have been shooting WD40 in and turning the motor by hand . Still need to get the fuel tank drained and all lines blown out. will need to change out fuel pump to. Plenty more but you get it.
Yes tires are rock hard old Ariva's Like to go with bigger wheels and tires at least on the back. Seems like there are a lot of options I would like to hear what some of the forum members are running and how they like what they chose.

Dominic
Hi Dominic. You can keep the stock look if you'd like and widen the tires too, by finding a pair of 8" rear Campagnolos to run in the front along with the same size wheels in the rear. 245-50 x 15" tires are maximum width an unflared Pantera can use, while 275-55 x15s in back will fit 8" wheels and still allow good handling. Campy magnesium wheels will often crack over time but can be saved by annealing in Mom's kitchen oven at 275F for about 3 hrs followed by VERY slow cooling. I wrap hot wheels in a wool blanket and put them back in the hot-but-turned-off oven overnight. Minor chips and small cracks can be TIG-welded and blended, then repainted. Note- this relaxes 40 years of internal stresses but also turns the protective paint tan.

Another unobtrusive mod is to remove the four spring spacers from the suspension; these were used to raise the headlights to some arbitrary height without regard for handling. Seldom checked by police on a Pantera today; realign all 4 wheels before driving very much.

Replace ALL rubber in the car for safety! Age and modern gas will cause all OEM rubber products in contact with fuel to harden and crack. Also replace all rubber brake lines; the vendors stock exact replica lines but dash-3 Aeroquip braided-stainless-over-teflon are better and safer from any standpoint. Paint them if you wish to be 'stock-appearing' from 5 ft away. And don't forget the rubber valve stems! Ancient OEMs can crack from the pressure of a dirty look! There are many other possibilities- most of which can be done at home. Do NOT throw anything away- parts can be re-purposed later. Have fun!
quote:
Originally posted by Bosswrench:
Hi Dominic. You can keep the stock look if you'd like and widen the tires too, by finding a pair of 8" rear Campagnolos to run in the front along with the same size wheels in the rear. 245-50 x 15" tires are maximum width an unflared Pantera can use, while 275-55 x15s in back will fit 8" wheels and still allow good handling. Campy magnesium wheels will often crack over time but can be saved by annealing in Mom's kitchen oven at 275F for about 3 hrs followed by VERY slow cooling. I wrap hot wheels in a wool blanket and put them back in the hot-but-turned-off oven overnight. Minor chips and small cracks can be TIG-welded and blended, then repainted. Note- this relaxes 40 years of internal stresses but also turns the protective paint tan.

Another unobtrusive mod is to remove the four spring spacers from the suspension; these were used to raise the headlights to some arbitrary height without regard for handling. Seldom checked by police on a Pantera today; realign all 4 wheels before driving very much.

Replace ALL rubber in the car for safety! Age and modern gas will cause all OEM rubber products in contact with fuel to harden and crack. Also replace all rubber brake lines; the vendors stock exact replica lines but dash-3 Aeroquip braided-stainless-over-teflon are better and safer from any standpoint. Paint them if you wish to be 'stock-appearing' from 5 ft away. And don't forget the rubber valve stems! Ancient OEMs can crack from the pressure of a dirty look! There are many other possibilities- most of which can be done at home. Do NOT throw anything away- parts can be re-purposed later. Have fun!


Thanks all good tips. I like the tire idea. So 245-50 15 will fit on front without and rubbing issues ? I will have to see what brands still make those sizes.
Dominic
Welcome to our addiction Dominic. Great looking car! I hate to say, but finding such a great stock Pantera, anything you change will affect the cars value. While at the moment Pantera's are gaining rapid increases in ORIGINAL cars values. Cars like yours are selling at over $100k plus no problem. If you don't mind the drop in value for a hot rod go for it.
As far as tires.. Be prepared for either sticker shock, or no tires at all for those Campy's. Since 15" tires are so unobtainium. You can buy Avons in a speed rated tire in 15" but they are around $2000 or so for a set.
Keep us in the loop on your Pantera!!!
Jeff
I've run 245-50x 15s on 8" Campys for nearly 2 decades so yes- they will fit. A shallow dent must be pounded some 6" long in the left side inner fender (on my Pantera; the cars vary a bit) and the fender lips must be rolled in the center of the front fenders.

Additionally, if you decide to increase caster for better high-speed handling and reduced tram-lining, the wiper shield must be slightly modified. Remember, these tires are six full sizes wider and two sizes lower than the as-delivered rubber (185-70 x 15), and 2 sizes wider than used on semi-pro GR-3 cars in Europe.

Note that a new street/race performance tire is now available- the MAXXIS Victra VR-1- in 245-40x 15" size, with which some of the clearancing may not be needed. Dunno- no one including myself has yet tried them on a DeTomaso.
Well after some work I'm happy to say its alive and running great. The 30 year nap is over and its time to get out and stretch its legs. I must say it is my first Pantera so some learning curve and full use of tools with the mix of standard and metric , but all in all very enjoyable oh and it helps having a lift as need to be in car, inside engine bay and under car a lot to get to almost everything. once I got through changing ,rebuilding and replacing everything I wanted to before start up I fired it up of a fuel can of race fuel 112 octane. it fired up and with a few carb.Adjustments was running great. Got it running of the tank later that day and went for a few runs up and down my street. Those old Arivas were 40 year old rock hard bouncing around like a go-cart.
Got some new rubber the other night and got out for a spin wow what a fun car to drive. Hoping to get some seat time this weekend to shake down any issues that I may have missed.
Dominic

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